Soccer girls are solid in tie with Cambridge, win over Pope John
The Everett High girls soccer team enjoyed a good week, battling to a 2-2 tie with GBL rival Cambridge and then earning their second win of the season with a solid a solid 4-0 victory over Pope John High.
“The team is playing excellent soccer in all aspects of the game,” said EHS head coach DeAnn Larrabee. “Even in our 2-0 loss to defending GBL champion Somerville on Friday in which we trailed by just 1-0 at the half, we played very well.”
In the 2-2 tie with Cambridge last Monday, senior Captain Jessamy Fuentes accounted for both of the Everett goals. Kayla Ringdahl assisted on the first marker with a nice corner kick in the first half, while Jessamy notched the equalizer on a penalty kick with about eight minutes to play.
“It was an exciting, up and down game with both teams playing well at both ends of the field,” noted Larrabee.
Everett played solidly from beginning to end in the non league contest with PJHS. Zoulikha Madkour, who volunteered to play goalkeeper this year, got a turn at the forward line and scored two goals, with senior Captain Tracey Nicholson assisting on both tallies. “Zoulikha says she now wants to get back on the field,”joked Larrabee.
Jackie and Katie Steeves scored a goal apiece, with Luana Demenezes and Maeve Kernan being credited with the assists.
The girls were scheduled to host Medford Monday and Malden today (Wednesday). They will play at Cambridge on Friday; host Randolph Monday; and host Somerville next Wednesday.
Boys soccer team
tops St. John’s Prep
Any doubts that the Everett High boys soccer team can run with the big dogs were laid to rest in the wake of the Crimson Tide’s 2-1 triumph over perennial Division 1 power St. John’s Prep last Wednesday.
“It was a great win for us,” said EHS head coach Fred Jannino. “St. John’s was ranked in the top five in Eastern Mass., so this was a great victory for our program.”
Junior forward David Lima notched both of the Tide’s goals, one in each half, while goalkeeper Eric Westphal was superb in the net, making a number of brilliant saves on shots from the six yard range.
The lone tally to dent Eric came on a penalty kick with about five minutes to go. However, Everett was not about to let the big triumph elude them, as the Tide held the fort over the final moments to chalk up the win.
However, in what Jannino termed an “emotional letdown,” Everett dropped a 1-0 decision to Somerville two days later. “We had been pumped up for the St. John’s game and the game itself was emotionally draining,” said Jannino. “It was obvious we just weren’t the same team against Somerville on Friday. We simply were flat.”
Still, a 0-0 deadlock seemed within reach until the Highlanders scored with about 20 minutes to play.
Monday’s game with Medford brought a new week however, and the Tide bounced back for a 3-2 triumph over their GBL rival. Felix DeBona scored two goals, including the game winner on a header off a nice crossing pass from Lima with about 13 minutes to play. David also assisted on Felix’s other goal, while Felix returned the favor with an assist on David’s marker.
However, a big save was needed by Westphal in the final minute, who came out of his net to cut down the angle on a wide open shot by a Medford player, to preserve the “W.”
With Everett standing tall with a 6-2 record (3-1 in the GBL) , and both losses by just one goal, Jannino and his crew have established themselves as one of the top tier teams in Eastern Mass. as the halfway point of the season approaches.
The Crimson Tide will travel to Malden today (Wednesday) and host Cambridge Friday. They then will travel to Somerville next Wednesday.
Field hockey team
earns 1-1 tie with
Revere
Nancy Nguyen scored a goal with about five minutes to play off a fine penalty corner by Sashae Walls to give the Everett High field hockey team a 1-1 tie with Revere last Thursday.
“Sashae made a good drive and Nancy did a nice job to control the pass and make the shot,” said EHS head coach Janet Colameta. “It was a nice play all around and indicative of the way that the team as a whole has been improving on our passing and stick work.”
Colameta also cited Sam Sarni for her fine play, particularly her driving, and the defensive play of Betty Vo and Kayla Lombardo. Martine Mathurin also made some nice saves in goal against former GBL rival Revere.
Colameta and her crew are scheduled to host Bishop Fenwick today (Wednesday) and Braintree Friday before traveling to Ursuline Academy on Monday.
Mangan, Perez top finishers
for EHS cross country teams
The Everett High girls and boys cross country teams took on Cambridge this past week at the latter’s home course at Fresh Pond.
Leading the way for Coach Shelanda Irish’s Lady Crimson Tide squad was sophomore
Jessica Mangan, who placed fifth over the 3.1 mile course. Junior Angele Louis-Jean was the next Everett girl across the line in eighth place. She was followed by sophomore Melisa Michel in ninth, sophomore Sarah Fischer in 10th, and senior Erika Fuentes in 12th.
On the boys’ side, sophomore Ricardo Perez was the top Everett runner with a 10th place effort. Fellow sophomore Jonathan Mendez was next in 11th position, with senior teammate Daniel Marshall in 17th and junior Nicholas D’Angelo in 18th.
“For a number of our runners, including Mendez, Marshall and Fischer, this was their first competition in a varsity race this season,” said Irish. “Some of our kids can run a lot faster than what they did at this meet, so I’m hoping to see solid performances vs. Somerville on Tuesday, which is at our home course in Medford.
“Somerville has a strong cross country program so that will be a challenging meet for us,” continued the coach. “This is our first race on our home course and we will compete only one more time this season on this course (next week vs. Medford) so it will be good to compare the
times.
“On Friday we will face Lynn Classical at their course,” added Irish. “We have never run against Lynn Classical, so it will be exciting to compete against them.”
EHS volleyball team falls
just short in comeback bid
The Everett High volleyball team turned in a fine, come from behind effort after trailing by two sets to Whittier on Friday, but fell short in the fifth and deciding set by a 15-12 margin.
“We could have just packed it in and called it a weekend when we were behind 2-0,” said EHS head coach Mike Fineran. “But the girls really dug deep and fought back to win the next two sets and force a fifth set.”
The Crimson Tide were bedeviled by a slow start that allowed Whittier to grab a 7-0 lead in the opening set. Although Everett picked up the pace to close the gap, Whittier cruised to a 25-16 win in the first set.
Everett similarly began slowly in the second set, falling behind by a 9-0 margin, but Taciane Santos came through with eight successive service points to bring Everett back to a 9-9 deadlock. The teams then battled evenly through the rest of the set, with Whittier eventually coming out on top by a slim 28-26 margin.
Santos and Amanda Souza were forces at the net in that set, accounting for seven kills between them.
“Our strong effort in the second set seemed to build up our confidence level,”: said Fineran. “We knew we could play with them.”
The Crimson Tide then came out firing on all cylinders in the third set, backed principally by a strong service game that featured eight aces (four by senior Captain Kristi Joti) and no service errors, as they took the set by a score of 25-21.
Everett continued with its new found dominance in the ensuing set, once again being mistake free in the service department while tossing six aces at Whittier. Santos and Souza once again were a formidable duo at the net, smashing back seven kills at their Whittier opponents.
However, the service game magic that had been a big part of the Crimson Tide’s success in the two winning sets departed momentarily at the start of the crucial fifth set, allowing Whittier to move out to a 9-5 edge. However, Everett battled back behind five service points by Souza to grab a 10-9 lead. The teams fought back and forth over the next few points, until Whittier put together a small rally to take the final set and the match, 15-12.
Earlier in the week, Everett ran into a strong Pope John High team and lost in three sets, 25-10, 25-15, 25-16. The Crimson Tide’s cross town rival is enjoying a banner season with an 8-1 record, good for first place in their league. The match was a local version of Family Feud, as the Lady Tigers are under the direction of head coach Richard Fineran, who is Mike’s dad.
“Pope John is the best team we’ve faced this season,” said Michael of his father’s Tigers. “They play together very well and have no weaknesses.”
The Everett girls were set to be back in action Monday against perennially strong Methuen. Fineran and his crew then will host Malden today (Wednesday) and travel to Somerville Friday. Next week they will host Lowell on Monday and host Medford on Wednesday.
Golfers fall to Saugus, Medford
The Everett High golf team went up against two of the stronger teams on its schedule and came out on the short end of decisions to Saugus and Medford.
In Monday’s contest with Northeastern Conference rival Saugus in match played at the Mt. Hood course, Matt Huse, playing in the number three position, shot a 39 and was the lone victor for Everett with a 5-4 win over his Sachem opponent. Michelle Zullo and Stephanie Chaves, playing at No. 7 and No. 8 respectively, each won three points from their Saugus counterparts. The final score showed Saugus with 50.5 points to 21.5 for the Crimson Tide.
Everett fared a bit better three days later against GBL rival Medford at the Unicorn course, winning 23 points to Medford’s 49. Huse once again was the top performer for Everett, shooting a nine hole round of 41 and defeating his Mustang foe, 5-4.
Other top scorers for Everett were Dan Concannon at No. 2 and Eric Russo at No. 4 with 3.5 points each. Next on the Crimson Tide score chart were Mike Yebba at No. 6, Zullo at No. 7, and Chaves at No. 8 with three points apiece.
“The team is actually playing well,” said EHS head coach Iggy Giangregorio. “Everyone is shooting in the low to mid 40s, but our opponents are just a bit better.”
Giangregorio and his squad were set to journey to Saugus Monday and host Cambridge tomorrow (Thursday). The GBL Open is set for Monday.